You know who I am talking about- the professors and teacher assistants (TA) at IBA, respectively. IBA is renowned for having skilled faculty members in various fields such as marketing and human resource. However, one cannot deny the amount of power they have in determining the student’s future. A good professor can inspire a student to follow a certain career path or just help them bump their GPA up. Whereas, a bad professor can have the opposite effect as a good teacher. Furthermore, to aid the professor with the responsibilities, a TA is appointed. Student’s future heavily depends on how the professor teaches and how good their relationship is with the TA.
The “supreme” power: professors
The power that professors have on the students is huge. It is to no one’s surprise that this power is often abused. Favoritism and biases are often reflected in the professor’s grading. Consequently, such biases plague the meritocracy IBA stands for. Furthermore, the lack of supervision on the professor’s action makes the students vulnerable to unfair treatment. The prime example of such behavior can be the 2020 Fall final fiasco; the administration gave full autonomy to the professors on how they want to test their students on the finals. Some professors consulted with their students on how they wanted to be tested. However, others pressured their students to give their finals physically. Furthermore, the problem doesn’t end here. The professors who resorted to taking an online examination gave their students unreasonably small deadlines to submit their work. Consequently, these actions reflected badly on the students’ grades.
The side effects of such authority
The unquestionable authority of the professors and their biases affecting the way they grade their students has a negative impact on students’ morale. The current system doesn’t award hard work more than it awards the luck of the student. A student can work as hard as they want but at the end of the day, it all depends on the professors. Furthermore, students cannot raise their voices against a certain professor due to the fear of failing the course.
The lack of transparency regarding professor evaluation creates distrust among the students for the system at hand. Many students at IBA are highly unaware of the process regarding evaluation. Some of us are scared about the anonymity of our comments regarding a professor. Consequently, this refrains many students from being honest in their evaluations. Furthermore, even if the students do complain, we still see the same professors offering courses in the next semester.
Is there hope?
In conclusion, IBA should keep a check and balance over the teachers and their actions. This can be done by making the professor evaluation system transparent and responsive. IBA could send an email regarding how the process takes place and how they ensure the anonymity of the students’ comments regarding a specific teacher. This may create trust among the students regarding the system. Furthermore, through the data gathered from the professor evaluation, IBA can tell the students about the actions they will take regarding professors with negative evaluation.
